Arley: Be your own brand

[Scranton, Pa.] “You are the brand” resounded throughout the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton, Pa. June 10th as Arley Wholesale hosted its 12th annual Tile and Stone Expo. Scott Levy, executive vice president of operations, explained the idea of private labeling, but a private label like never before.

“We don’t just change the name and then put it out there again, because it doesn’t do anything,” Levy said. “Private label to us is everyone can have a different name on that product. Every single store can have a different SKU for that product. The headers on our boards are blank — put your own sticker on it, do whatever you want. We want you to be your own brand.”

According to Levy, the industry, especially tile and stone, gave away the power of branding to manufacturers who developed their own brands which allowed products to be shopped. “It ends up lowering everyone’s margin and the only person that wins in the end is the consumer,” Levy said. “Before all these things happened, before the internet, people bought because of you. You created a vision for them, you created something in their minds that made them buy from you instead of somewhere else. We want to help people get back to that.”

The company credits much of its continued and growing success to the relationships it’s built and sustained with its customers. “They call us for everything. They call us to tell us when we’re doing well. They call us to tell us when we’re not doing well. They call us to tell us what they want,” Levy said. “We don’t have all the answers, but we’re willing to listen, we’re willing to learn, we’re willing to try new things,” Levy added.

Last year Arley unveiled its new interactive design app. It unveiled the second generation version complete with interface upgrades and more realistic visuals at this year’s show. “The customers told me what they wanted and we changed it and made it better, and we’ll continue to do that like we do everything else,” Levy said.

Arley also offers its customers a multitude of support. Inventory, according to Levy, is a must for any successful retailer and Arley offers it. “Every customer should have some level of inventory because the amount of sales that Home Depot and Lowes does doesn’t come in because things are pretty — it’s because it’s there and it’s available,” he said. Levy added that Arley customers can buy from the company online, view inventory in real time, see orders and place orders.

The company has also become a one-stop-shop for its customers by expanding its involvement with sundries. “Logistics is a nightmare for our customers. They’re job is hard enough,” Levy said. “You can buy it all from me, it comes in one package and you just saved all that money on different delivery charges.”